


Shadowed Moonflowers

by ArcanusAnima



Series: A Walk through the Garden [3]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fae, Fae & Fairies, Gen, I don't know what else to tag, Panic Attacks, mental assault, possession attempt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-20
Updated: 2016-09-20
Packaged: 2018-08-16 04:10:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8086633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArcanusAnima/pseuds/ArcanusAnima
Summary: Just how did Hal come to join the Strilonde family? It's not as nice of a story as you may think.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys. So, uh. That Hal backstory I said would be out like weeks ago? It's finally done! …I am so sorry this took so long. In my defense when I said this would be out I still hadn't introduced some key characters so I feel like this worked out well. 
> 
> That said this is a bit darker than what Frozen Lilacs has been. So warnings for violence and assault and such. I don't think it gets too bad, but just in case. 
> 
> As a reference Dirk is 12, Roxy is 11, and Rose and Dave are 10.

**Dirk’s POV**

The grass is cool under your feet as you follow after Roxy. Dave and Rose are behind you, voices a soft murmur you can just hear over the buzz of the insects. The moon is full in the sky, guiding your travel through the forest tonight. You are not really sure why you had to come out here, sneaking from the castle in the middle of the night without anyone knowing to make things even worse, but Roxy wanted to go and there was no way you would let her go alone. Rose and her freaky powers of knowing when something is happening had found out and then Dave knew and here you were, four kids out in the middle of the forest full of potentially dangerous creatures at night.

“Come on, guys! There’s supposed to be a huge group of faerie-dragons that come to the river when there’s a full moon and I don’t want to miss it!” Roxy calls from up ahead. 

Dave marches ahead of you with his hands shoved into his pants’ pockets and wings twitching with his irritation. “Why did we sneak out of the castle just to see a bunch of tiny flying lizards again? You do know what D and Bro will do to us if they find out, right? And I don’t even want to think of what Mom might do if she finds out. She is terrifying when she gets angry. I don’t know about you but I remember exactly what happened to that guy who tried to flirt with her and wouldn’t take no for an answer. Not to mention D and even Bro are scared of her. Bro and D. Two of the strongest warriors who fought in the war and then went and built a whole kingdom and they are scared of Mom. If I’m going to risk that kind of wrath it had better be for more than just a bunch of lizards.”

“You are worrying far too much, little brother. Faerie-dragons are supposed to be a magnificent sight to see, certainly worth breaking the rules for a chance to witness them firsthand. And no one will know we were gone so long as we get back before dawn. Now hurry up before we lose sight of Roxy.” Rose strides after Dave and you let them go on ahead of you. You are quite content to continue at the pace you are going, more focused on something else that has been bothering you all night.

A little while after you had entered the forest you have had this nagging feeling that something has been following you. You are still learning about your new abilities of perception, but you are positive that what you are feeling is the presence of something keeping up with you. Breaking off from your family is not a great idea right now, but you also don’t want to worry them if this is just you being paranoid.

Walking towards where the feeling is coming from leads you deeper into the forest. The trees grow closer together here, and the moonlight filters weakly through the dense coverage. Your eyes still have no trouble taking in every detail around you, but the gloom adds an air of danger to the scene. You keep going until you reach a small clearing. Looking around reveals nothing but a couple of bushes and more trees. But the presence is definitely closer now, on the other side of the clearing you think. 

Whatever it is starts to move, and you track it the best you can with your eyes. You barely notice that the air has gone strangely still around you. Right, left, back to the right. This thing is lazily crossing the clearing, slowly getting closer to you. Finally it settles at the center of the clearing. An odd haze suddenly fills your mind.

 _“It seems that you can actually perceive my presence here. Interesting.”_ The voice isn’t so much a voice as it is someone else’s thoughts being forced into your head. You press a hand to your throbbing temple as pain blossoms forth. _“That is a very rare gift to have. And by the colors you wear paired with the Moon’s symbol stitched into the cloth you must be a royal.”_

Through the pain you vaguely notice that this thing is getting closer to you again. Your body feels rooted to the ground. The thought to run briefly occurs to you but the pain increases again as the creature continues to speak.

 _“I would very much enjoy trying on a form like that. I’m sure you won’t mind me borrowing that body of yours for a while.”_ There is a flash of a silhouette flying straight at you before something slams into your chest and shoves you to the ground. Your wings heavily protest being smashed beneath you, but you have little time to worry about that.  Pressure in the form of what feels like four paws rests on your chest for just a moment before sinking into your body. 

The pain from before is nothing compared to this. Your body feels like it’s on fire, your head like it’s going to explode from being stuffed with too much everything. Like someone is trying to force their being into you. Which is probably at least close to what is happening, but you can’t exactly manage to make any coherent thoughts right now.

 _“Stop resisting. It is inevitable that I will win this battle. Still, I am impressed you can even begin to block my powers. You truly have a gift.”_ The voice is everywhere now. You struggle to fight off this attack, to do anything to stop this awful sensation that threatens to completely consume you.

The world around you has long since faded from your senses. There is only pain and fire and the awful force that just presses down on you further, compelling you to just give in. Awareness is slipping from your grasp, breaths coming in short frantic gasps. You are losing this battle. Gathering what little energy you have left, you do the last thing you can do at this point.

You scream.

 

**Dave’s POV**

Alright, you have to admit that this was actually worth sneaking out from the castle for. Before you hundreds of tiny dragons float above the surface of the water. You could easily hold one in the palm of your hand, and unlike their much larger cousins they are very skittish and fragile beings. Each glows with a unique color that paints the river with their light. The moon shining down on you adds to the beauty of it all. You don’t think any punishment for coming here will make you regret getting to see this.

“This is even better than I imagined it would be!” Roxy has been bouncing around since you got here. The faerie-dragons were spooked by her at first, but now they linger around her and encourage her dancing with them. As she twirls about no less than twenty lights flit around her, illuminating her in an ethereal glow. Ugh, you have been spending way too much time with Rose if these kinds of words are working their way into your vocabulary. 

“I have to admit, this was a fantastic idea,” you comment from the convenient rock you had planted your butt on when you got here. You shift around, spreading your wings to let the cool night air flow through the feathers. 

“I agree. This is a magnificent experience I would not trade for the world.” Rose has spread herself on the ground next to you, leaning back on her hands and wings lazily fluttering behind her. She glances around with a slight frown. “Though I do worry about where Dirk has wandered off to.”

Huh, she’s right. After you passed him to keep up with Roxy on the way here you haven’t actually seen him. You just figured he was taking his sweet time to follow the rest of you. He’s always so quiet you never noticed that he had yet to catch up. 

“Dirky probably just saw something shiny and had to go investigate. He’ll catch up eventually.” Roxy doesn’t seem concerned, but now doubt swims in your head. Sure, Dirk had a tendency to go off on his own, especially if something has caught his interest. But this was different. You were breaking rules and out on your own in the forest at night. Dirk prided himself as the self-proclaimed protector of you all as he was the oldest. For him to leave your sides tonight is incredibly suspicious. 

Next to you Rose stands up and brushes off her clothes. “Why don’t we go find him? I’m sure it is nothing, but I think we will all feel better once Dirk is back with us.”

You have to agree with her. “Yeah. It’s really weird for him to have gone off since it’s kind of dangerous out here by ourselves.“ You get up from your rock, shaking off a few faerie-dragons who have attached themselves to your wings and are trying to tug you into joining their dancing. 

Roxy whines from where she’s still spinning around. “Do we have to? He’s fine. It’s not like he doesn’t just wander off all the time. Let’s enjoy this! You guys haven’t even danced yet! So just relax and come over here and have some fun. Dirk will get here soon enough and he will be perfectly fi-”

A piercing scream cuts Roxy off and you all freeze. You know that scream, remember with vivid detail the sound from when Dirk had sprained his wing falling off a balcony a year ago. But this. This is so much worse. You honestly think Dirk might be dying with how awful that scream was.

Instinct takes over and you shoot off towards the sound. Distantly you hear Rose and Roxy following after you, but that doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is getting to your brother. You run, barely dodging trees and bushes as you follow the fading cry. 

You burst into a clearing where you stumble to a halt. There in front of you lies your brother writhing on the ground, gasping for breath and clawing at anything within reach. His face is scrunched up in agony, eyes squeezed shut but still allowing tears to slip out. His wings are thrashing as much as they can be while being pinned between his body and the ground, several tattered feathers lay around him. A faint black haze surrounds his struggling body, concentrated at his chest and head. You can only stand there and stare in horror as you watch your brother suffer.

A sharp gasp comes from beside you. You don’t have to look to know that it’s Rose, as Roxy dashes closer to Dirk instead of freezing up like you.

“Dirk!” Roxy calls desperately as she falls to his side. Rose rushes forward to grab her and drag her back. 

“Don’t touch him! We don’t know what’s happening to him, and this situation is bad enough that we can’t risk adding another factor.” Rose drags Roxy back a couple more feet before letting her go. Making sure Roxy will stay put Rose cautiously approaches Dirk.

“Dirk? Can you hear me? Do you know what is happening to you?” Rose questions Dirk in a surprisingly calm voice, though it does tremble faintly. You are really glad that someone here has some plan of action and a level head because you are still panicking. 

Dirk continues to flail about, but somehow manages to pry his eyes open and look in Rose’s general direction. You doubt he’s actually seeing anything with how glazed his eyes look even from where you are standing. His mouth moves in a way like he’s trying to say something but he can’t quite form the words. Finally he gasps out a slurred “possession” before his eyes snap shut again and he starts clawing at his head.

“Something is trying to posses our Dirky?” Roxy exclaims in horror. That would probably explain the haze you see that is getting steadily darker. Maybe. You honestly have no idea what is going on. You can’t tear your eyes away from Dirk while one thought circles through your mind. Are you going to lose your brother?

Rose doesn’t bother to respond to Roxy, instead dropping down to the ground and furiously tearing away clumps of grass. Once a significant amount of grass is gone she starts tracing symbols into the dirt.

“Rosey, what are you doing?” Roxy voices the question you are wondering yourself. Rose continues her work without looking up but at least answers the question.

“I’ve read about possessions and I know a basic spell that should force whatever is trying to take over Dirk out of his body. All it needs is this set of runes and a quick incantation.” For once you are so glad that Rose has a weird obsession with spells and dark arts. 

Rose finishes her drawing, places both hands on the ground and recites what sounds like absolute gibberish to you. The symbols begin to glow and Dirk is covered in a similar light, disturbing the black haze around his body. 

The clearing goes silent for a moment, all of you watching and holding your breath to see if this plan has worked. Dirk’s thrashing lessens though he’s still breathing in harsh sobs. For a second you think that this has worked and it is finally over.

Then Dirk’s entire body seizes and releases another ear shattering scream. This time the scream has an underlying tone to it, like two people are screaming at once. You all slam your hands to your ears to block out the horrible sound. It fades soon enough but is quickly followed by another agonizing yell. 

You don’t realize that Rose has been yelling at you until she shakes you and your eyes finally focus on her. “Dave, you have to go back. Get to the castle and bring D or Mom or someone back. I don’t know how to fix this. You’re the fastest, you have to go get help. Dave! Go!”

Rose’s words register in your mind and you turn and run. You run as fast as you can, not caring that twigs and briars tear at your skin. You don’t care that your lungs are burning for more air, that your legs and feet are screaming in pain. Nothing matters but getting to the castle and finding help. 

The window you propped open when you left is mercifully still unlocked and you burst through it with little grace. You sprint through the hallways, probably scaring a couple guards as you rush by. Several stairways and even more hallways fly by until you finally, finally reach your eldest brother’s room. You crash through the door and immediately throw yourself at the sleeping figure in the bed. 

“D! D, I’m sorry we snuck out of the castle and went into the forest to go see the faerie-dragons and everything was great but then Dirk was missing and when we found him something was trying to posses him and Rose tried to help but made it worse and Dirk was screaming and hurt and in so much pain and it was horrible and I couldn’t do anything but run back here and I don’t want Dirk to die I can’t lose him and, and-”

Your breath is coming in harsh gasps, tears streaming down your face and blurring your vision at this point. You can’t stop shaking either, desperately holding onto your brother.

“Dave? Dave, I can’t understand what you’re saying. What’s wrong?” D is hugging you close now, having woken up when you landed on him. He’s sitting up with you huddled close to him, his great black wings curling protectively around you. He swipes away your tears, not that it does much good as they keep falling. Instead he gently cups your face and lifts your head so that your eyes can meet.

“Dave, I need you to calm down. Can you take a deep breath for me?” You try, managing to take a shaky breath. “Good, that’s it. Now tell me what happened.”

You swallow thickly, taking another breath before explaining the best you could. “We went into the forest and now Dirk is hurt. We have to go help him, D. He, he was in so much pain,” you trail off, fresh tears threatening to fall.

Your brother tenses around you before shifting both of you to the edge of the bed so he can get up. You rub at your eyes to get rid of the remaining tears as D shuffles around the room to dig up a shirt to toss on. Another presence appears at the door and you look up to see Bro standing there. 

“What’s going on in here? Lil’ man having nightmares again?” D doesn’t pause in securing his shirt and then going to the huge window and opening it.

“The kids snuck out into the forest and Dirk got hurt. Go get Aelia and then come find us. I’m going ahead to see what I can do. Dave, I’m going to need you to guide me to where Dirk is.” D motions for you to come over to him, his wings spread in preparation to take flight.

Bro is already gone from the doorway before you can take a step towards D. Your brother leans down and reaches for you You secure your arms around his neck as he gathers up your legs to press you up against his chest. He wastes no time jumping out of the window and then the two of you are soaring through the night sky. If it was for any other reason you would savor this moment. Flying with your brothers is a treat, since none of you can fly on your own yet. But now you focus on getting back to Dirk. 

Luckily you all had traveled from the castle to the forest in a relatively straight line, so finding your way back to where you left your family was simple enough. Having an aerial view allows D to spot the clearing easily. He swoops down, wings stirring up a breeze as you land. You release your grip on your brother and immediately turn to see what has happened since you left. 

The most noticeable difference is Dirk has stopped screaming and thrashing. Your mind of course jumps to the worst explanation for that, but Rose and Roxy are still relatively calm so Dirk must still be alive. The girls are crouched around your brother who is lying still on the ground. His breathing is still strained but at least he isn’t struggling for air anymore. Your eyes travel over to where something new is resting in the clearing, and wow all this stress and panic must really be getting to you because there are now two Dirks. 

D takes in the situation and goes straight into command mode. He strides(ha) over to the girls who look up at him with relief clear on their faces. “What happened? And why does Dirk suddenly have a double?” Even though his voice doesn’t waver in the slightest you can hear the underlying worry.

“Something was trying to posses Dirk. I thought I could separate the entity, but I only made it worse.” Rose bows her head in shame. “I don’t really know what happened. Dirk was screaming and in so much pain, then the light from the spell became too bright and when we could see again their were two Dirks.”

Roxy shuffles closer to wrap her arms around Rose. D looks over both Dirks before focusing on the one closest to the girls. “And you’re sure that this is the original Dirk?” They both nod. D kneels to run a hand through Dirk’s hair, then sliding it down to cup the side of his face. Dirk leans into the touch, eyes fluttering open to gaze blearily at D.

“D?” Dirk’s voice is barely more than a scratchy whisper, but you are so happy to hear him talk. If he can talk that means he will be okay, right?

“Yeah, little bro. I’m here. You doing alright?” Dirk’s eyes fall shut again as he slowly shakes his head. “Everything hurts.”

A hand on your shoulder makes you jump and snap your head to the side. Bro stands over you, Mom rushing over to start fretting over Dirk and the girls. You didn’t even notice them get here. Bro tugs you close to him, slinging an arm around your shoulders as he walks you over to everyone else. You welcome the contact, the weight and heat helping to ground you. 

Mom is frowning over a set of glowing symbols floating above the two Dirks. “Well, that complicates things. Rose, that spell you used was a great idea, and it would have worked if this was a ghost or lesser spirit entity. Unfortunately, Dirk here had to have a run-in with a kitsune. And this one seems to have a particular specialty with possession. I think the only reason Dirk was able to fight it off at all was due to those budding perception abilities he’s got.” Mom waves her hand and the symbols change. “Uh, oh.”

Everyone turns to look at Mom. “That is not something I really want to hear right now,” D  says with a frown of his own. Mom reads over the rest of the symbols before she waves them away. 

“Well, good news is Dirk should be just fine. He’s going to need plenty of rest and food to replenish all the energy he lost tonight, and any wounds patched up, too. Other than that there should be no problem.” Mom pauses and looks over to the copy. “The not so good news is that when Rose tried to force the separation of these two their souls got mixed up in everything. It looks like they’re tied together now. And I don’t think there’s a safe way to break that without doing even more damage.”

D sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Great. So long as no one is at risk of dying, we’ll just have to deal with this later. For now we have one kid that needs some TLC and a warm bed and three more who won’t be leaving their rooms for some time after this stunt.” You all look down, knowing that this could all have been avoided if you had just stayed in the castle. Now Dirk was seriously injured and tied to some creature, possibly forever. 

“Hey,” D gathers your attention back to him, “look. Yes, you broke the rules and did something potentially dangerous. And yes, one of you got hurt. But the important thing is you also did the right thing by coming to get us. No matter how many rules you break or how bad a situation is, you should always come get one of us. We’ll be mad and you will be in trouble, but nothing will stop us from making sure you are safe and alive. That is the most important thing to us.” D holds each of your gazes before standing up and gathering you all into a hug. Bro’s arm disappears before he can be caught in the awkward huddle but you don’t mind. Dirk is going to be okay and you are surrounded in the warmth and love of your family.

Eventually D let’s you all go. “Now let’s get you all back home. I think this has been enough excitement for a while.” D leans down and gently picks up Dirk, getting a weak groan of pain from Dirk at being moved. Bro has scooped up your brother’s double and thrown him over his shoulder. Rose nudges your arm and offers her hand. You take it, getting a tight squeeze which you return. Roxy smiles at you from the other side of Rose. Understanding flows between you, and you follow your guardians back to the castle.

The three of you get yourselves cleaned up and ready for bed as the adults patch up Dirk. Once your brother is finally resting comfortably you begin to move the mass of pillows and blankets you had gathered together into a huge nest at the side of Dirk’s bed. The adults say nothing as you work, only giving each of you a hug (and an affectionate hair ruffle from Bro) and telling you to get some sleep. You finally drift off in a mound of blankets and warm bodies, comforted in the knowledge that your family was safe.

 

**Dirk POV**

You are running through the hallways of the castle, chasing after Dave in a game of tag. You are stalking a rabbit in the forest, body low to the ground as you track its scent. You are flying, your brother’s arms wrapped securely around you and the ground so very far below. You are walking through a town with a smirk on your face, a nearby mirror reflecting a face not your own. You are...you...

You wake up to find your face buried in a pillow. Your mind is fuzzy, and it takes you some moments to realize that you are in your bed. The adventure in the forest feels like nothing more that a bad dream. Then you try to move and immediately regret everything. Your entire body flares with pain, every last nerve screaming at you. You lie still, trying to steady your breathing and take stock of just what is wrong. Your head is the worst, a dull pounding making it hard to think clearly. Your wings are also particularly tender, and you can feel multiple feathers bent out of place. Scratches sting from all over your body and your muscles ache from over exhaustion. Whatever the hell happened last night left you feeling like death warmed over. 

There’s a rustle of cloth behind you, and you force yourself to turn your head to the other side. A giant nest of blankets and pillows has taken up residence beside your bed. Your brother and sisters are hidden within it in a mess of tangled limbs that still somehow manages to look comfortable. You watch them all for a while, unable to do much more. 

Rose is the first to wake up, lazily blinking away sleep before she notices you are also awake. She pries her way out from under Roxy’s clinging form to come kneel in front of you. 

“Dirk, you’re awake. How do you feel?” She sounds so worried, and you wonder just what she had to see when you were attacked. 

You consider her question. “Like a bunch of dragons decided to tackle me into the ground and then decided to play the loudest music ever right next to my head.” Your voice is scratchy and incredibly faint but you are just happy that you could say something at all. “What happened?”

Rose smiles at your weak attempt at humor. “Well, there were no dragons involved but I’m sure you hardly feel in top condition.” Her smile vanishes. “You were attacked by a kitsune. I used a spell that would force out any spiritual entity from a person, but I didn’t know I was dealing with a kitsune. They are much more powerful than other spirit creatures and so it only caused more problems. I am so sorry for that.” 

Rose bows her head in apology and you wish you could move to get her to stop. “Hey, look I’m fine. If anything you stopped it from doing something even worse. So thank you for that.” You wait until she looks back up at you and give her your most reassuring and thankful smile you can.

“Dirk?” You shift your gaze over to see Roxy sitting up and rubbing at her eyes. When her eyes lock onto yours she leaps up with a shout, startling Dave awake. Thankfully Roxy controls herself from jumping on you in a giant hug even though you know she wants to do just that. Dave scrambles to join the girls at the side of your bed, all of them looking incredibly happy to see you awake. 

“Dirky! You’re okay! Don’t you dare do anything like that again. You had us so worried!” Fresh tears start falling down Roxy’s face, though she keeps smiling happily.

Dave is in no better shape. “Yeah, bro. You scared the hell out everyone. I thought, I thought that thing was going to kill you.” He barely finishes before a choked sob cuts him off. You react immediately, ignoring your body’s protest to reach a hand up to cup your brother’s face and turn his head to look at you. 

“Dave, I promise your I am not going anywhere. It’ll take more than a measly spirit being to take me down.” 

Dave says nothing to that but nods and grabs onto your hand, letting it rest back on the bed but still holding onto it tightly.

A soft knock draws all of your attentions to your door which opens to let D poke his head in. “Hey, kiddos. I heard talking so I figured it was a good time to check in on everyone.” He walks into the room, sidestepping around the pillow nest and crouches down next to your bed. “How are you doing, Dirk? Anything feel out of place or seriously wrong?”

You shake your head slowly. “No, just don’t think I want to be moving anytime soon.”

“Yeah, you’re going to be on bed rest for a while. We’ll get Aelia in here to check you over again, make sure nothing has changed since last night.” D gently runs his fingers through your hair before getting up and exiting the room. 

Mom hurries in shortly after D leaves. “Oh, Dirk. I am so glad to see you awake.” She kneels down beside your bed and you feel the tingle of her magic flowing over you. “It looks like everything is looking as good as it can be right now. You feel like anything is significantly wrong?”

“No, nothing but probably what’s expected. What exactly happened?”

Mom frowns, probably debating how much she wants to tell you. “As I am sure someone has told you already you were attacked by a kitsune. A fairly powerful one, too, despite how young it is. It obviously tried to possess you for some scheme or amusement. However, your budding powers managed to hold it off from controlling you completely, though it took a heavy toll on your mind and body.” She pauses then, and you can tell that something else happened and it wasn’t so simple. “There were some complications. We think that due to your powers the kitsune had to force itself deeper into your being to try and get a hold on your body. Then when Rose attempted to force it out part of its essence was trapped in you. It formed some sort of connection between the two of you, and we’re not quite sure what all of that is going entail.”

That...really does not sound good. You tune out your siblings asking more questions as you think about what this could mean. What kind of connection did you have? Did this mean that it would have to stay at your side for the rest of your life? Well, that one probably wasn’t true, considering the only people in your room right now were your family.

_Oh, sweet goddess my head hurts._

Your eyes snap open, when had you closed them?, when the voice from last night speaks in your head. Before you can start freaking out there’s another knock at your door which draws your attention.

“Hey, thought you’d like to know the fox is awake.” Bro stands in your doorway with arms crossed. He shifts his gaze to you. “You doin’ okay, kid?”

You nod. “Yeah, I’ll be alright.” You are getting tired of answering the same question though. 

Bro nods back, gives a quick but pointed look to Mom, and then vanishes. Mom stands up and gives you a pat on your shoulder. “Alright, I have to go. But if anything feels wrong or you need something don’t hesitate to send one of these guys to get me.” With that she leaves just as quickly as she came, leaving you with your siblings once again.  

_Oh, this is just great._

You start as the voice speaks again. How was it doing that? Was that kitsune still in your head somehow?

_No, you idiot. Your littermate just managed to tie our life forces together. Which means we are stuck together, whether we like it or not. And trust me, I like this about as much as I like getting dropped into a river in winter._

“Dirk?” You jolt back to reality to see Rose staring at you worriedly. “What’s wrong?”

For a second you consider keeping the fact you can apparently talk to the creature that attacked you through your mind. Then you remember that this is Rose and trying to keep secrets from her never ends well. “I can hear the kitsune in my head.”

Rose’s eyebrows shoot up into her hair, while Dave and Roxy look even more concerned next to her. “That is very interesting. This must be part of the connection mother mentioned. Does it go both ways? That is, can you talk to it as well.”

_Kitsune, it, fox. I do actually have a name you know. It’s Hal, and I would greatly appreciate if you would stop calling me an it._

“I think so. I-uh, he?” You receive no rebuke to that so you must have guessed right. “He says his name is Hal and I’m not sure if it works both ways? He seems to have no problems hearing everything you say right now.”

_Yeah, this stupid connection goes both ways. And until we work on blocking our thoughts from each other nothing is going to be private. Also- oh great this guy is back. And he even brought friends._

You get this weird sensation of hearing another conversation going on but you can’t quite make it out. Is this what Hal is hearing right now? 

“Dirk!” Rose’s sharp yell makes you focus on her once again.

You raise a hand to your head where a headache is truly starting to set in now. “Sorry. Yeah, sounds like this goes both ways. I think D and everyone are questioning Hal right now. He also mentioned that we could block our thoughts from each other, so that’s something to look forward to.”

Dave has a scowl on his face that looks like it’s going to take up permanent residence there. “I don’t like how the thing that could have killed you is still running around in your mind.”

“That does seems like a really big problem.” Roxy chimes in from where she has moved back to the pillow nest. “I mean, having someone hear your every thought in a castle where all sorts of official business goes on?”

“While I agree that this could be a great cause for concern, I highly doubt Hal will be leaving any time soon. It would be too great of a risk, both for what Hal may learn and also the full consequences of your connection.”

_Ugh, I forgot just how awful having to deal with other people is. And threatening me every other sentence is not earning you any favors._

**What’s going on over there?**

_The basics. Who are you? What are your motives? What did you do to our brother? Blah, blah, blah. Like they think I can actually do anything now. I’m stuck here with no way out. The best I can do would be to make everyone’s lives as miserable as possible but even that will only go so far._

**So this connection means we can’t be apart? Then how are you not here in my room now?**

_It’s not like we have to be breathing down each other’s necks. But there is a limit to how far we will be able to go before there is some sort backlash. Guess I should also mention now that we will feel any pain inflicted on the other. Almost feel like I should apologize for last night with how strong the echoes I’m getting from you. Though if you hadn’t fought me we wouldn’t be in this situation right now._

**Right, because I was just going to let some hostile creature just take over my mind and do who knows what.**

_I would have given your body back. Eventually. After I had some fun of course. So, think you could come spring me out of this little magic prison I’m locked in?_

**Like hell are you getting out anytime soon.**

You force yourself to ignore the insistent pestering from your new head-mate. Luckily no one has decided to bother you this time for spacing out, probably thinking you fell back asleep. Which isn’t such a bad idea, now that you think about it. You’ve had your eyes closed for however long you were talking to Hal, and at this point you don’t think you could open them again if you tried. Your body is still exhausted, and your head still pounds in time with your heartbeat. Sleep sounds like the best option right now, so you let yourself be dragged down into its depths. 

It seems to take forever for your body to heal. You sleep for nearly a full day after waking up that first time, which leaves you feeling significantly better. However, after a week of nothing but bed rest you take the first chance you have to escape and get some fresh air. Your siblings barely leave your side, and though it is endearing you also are getting tired of tripping over someone just to do the simplest of things. To make matters worse Hal never shuts up, constantly bugging you at all hours of the day. But lying beneath his snarky comments and crude jokes you can feel just how restless he is getting. Apparently they have him locked in one of the rooms in the castle, sealed in by one of your mom’s enchantments. Considering he must be used to roaming wherever he pleases, this must be horrible. 

Hal’s confinement finally gets to you after three weeks. You know something needs to be done when you barely get anything more than a snapped demand to just leave him alone one day. You talk to D about it, and after numerous precautions are set up Hal is freed to roam the castle grounds. He’s under strict rules that if he attempts to harm anyone or escape he will be locked back into his room. Hal grudgingly agrees, and spends most of his time secluded in the center gardens. 

Hal scares the hell out of you one morning. You walk out of your bedroom, still half asleep, and run straight into yourself. Turns out that Hal can’t possess anyone now, but can freely shift into your form. He still has his fox ears and tails as a human though, so at least everyone can still tell the difference between you to. Also so that Hal can’t trick anyone into making them think he is you. 

As time passes you learn to tolerate each other. Hal slowly becomes part of your odd family rather than a trapped prisoner. You both learn to block out your thoughts so you don’t always hear what each other is thinking. You also figure out that you can travel quite a long distance before there is any repercussions from your connection. There does seem to be a time limit though, as while on a trip away from home for two weeks you got progressively more fatigued and are plagued by a constant headache. You make sure not to stay separated for that long again, but do take advantage of being able to separate for at least short periods of time when you just need a break. 

Eventually everything settles down into a normal routine. It’s an extremely weird definition of normal, but then again your family has never been normal by any definition. That night in the forest still haunts your dreams some nights, but soon it becomes nothing more than a bad memory. Your life is far from perfect, but it could honestly be much worse. And you know your family will always have your back, no matter how messed up or dangerous a situation you get yourself into.

**Author's Note:**

> [Some stuff]() I drew for this chapter, including Dirk facing off against Hal and some faerie-dragons!


End file.
